The Wyman Neighborhood Group is a small group of neighbors who came together as the planned development of Spence Farm spurred fears of increased flooding that is already horrendous in the area. Since then it has grown to have an active distribution list of almost 150 people and a Facebook page with over 800 fans that represent voters across the city.
Our first efforts resulted in the purchase of the first parcel up for sale. Subsequent efforts have influenced the strengthening of the drainage engineering plans for the developments of the other parcels.
With the elections upcoming we feel it is appropriate for us to make a statement about the candidates for office. We would like to remind everyone of those candidates who have actively supported us in the past and so we believe will support us in the future.
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MAYOR GALVIN, ALDERMEN GAFFNEY, HAGGERTY, AND ANDERSON were there since the beginning to offer help and advice. Without their support we would never have been able to obtain the Spence Farm parcel which has become an integral part of our city and a very active center for community use and events, as well as a protection against flooding.
We also note that this active support of the community has oddly been turned into a political liability as other candidates attempt to frame it as a poor use of city resources. They claim the money spent for Spence and Whispering Hills would have been better used in other ways. But we must remind them that it was only due to the civic action of hundreds of citizens at dozens of meetings that the idea of a tiny meals tax was proposed and encouraged.
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The City Council was extremely wary of any tax (a meals tax was previously soundly defeated) and this one would never have passed without the overwhelming support of the community at council meetings. The measure passed with two dissenting votes. So it is disingenuous to suggest this money could have been spent on anything else. Absent our voice, there would be NO MONEY to spend elsewhere.
There are other candidates who wish to either sell the parcel or build a school on it. Let us remind them that it was the promise of the Council to the community with the vote that they took to buy this land as a protection against flooding and for perpetual use as open space.
Candidate MICHAEL CONCANNON has been to many of our neighborhood meetings, has attended Planning Board and Conservation Commission meetings, and assured us of his support.
So read the campaign literature, listen to the rhetoric and make your own decision when you vote!
For more information about our group please visit our website at https://sites.google.com/site/savespencefarm/
For The Wyman Neighborhood Group,
Vince Grillo
